Some were aware of the risks and joined voluntarily, but others said they were tricked into going to the frontline after being promised cooking and cleaning jobs.

Malaysia has been accused by the West of helping Tehran evade sanctions through the supply of Iranian oil to China via a “dark fleet” in its waters.

Russia says the drills are in response to ‘provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials’.

Announcement comes amid fragile Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been a frequent target of attacks in recent weeks.

Student protesters at USC abandoned their camp after police surrounded them and threatened activists with arrest. In Boston, Northeastern University’s commencement began peacefully.

Israel’s prime minister denounced a ‘volcano of antisemitism’ and international criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Giving in to Hamas would be a huge victory for the group and Iran, and project a ‘terrible weakness’, PM Netanyahu said, while also ordering the closure of ‘incitement’ news channel Al Jazeera.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the two issues were part of an ‘integrated vision’ for peace in the Middle East and could not be disentangled.

Hamas negotiators are in Egypt to give a response to a proposed ceasefire, but Israel says it will send a delegation only if it sees ‘positive movement’ on a hostage deal.

The president has been a target since the start of Moscow’s invasion, and says he was aware of at least ‘five or six’ foiled assassination attempts against him.

There has been “significant progress” in negotiations to reach the deal, according to a report by an Egyptian TV channel.

Tens of thousands have been killed. Yet domestic politics are as much a factor as any looming humanitarian disaster for Western and Middle Eastern governments involved in peace talks.

The UN humanitarian office said attacking Rafah would deal a huge blow to the aid operations of entire Gaza.

The Israeli PM’s insistence on invading Rafah is proving a major obstacle to a proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days in return for the release of hostages.

With summer now approaching, Palestinians and relief organisations are increasingly concerned about people living in makeshift shelters that intensify heat rather than protect people from it.

After months of stop-and-start negotiations, the ceasefire efforts appear to have reached a critical stage, with Egyptian and American mediators reporting signs of compromise in recent days.

Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, will visit the region as Washington looks to combat funding for Iran and its proxies as well as evasion of its sanctions on Russia.

Israel and Hamas appear to be seriously negotiating an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages. Here’s what’s known so far about the current proposal.

The United Nations said it would take at least until 2040 to restore the homes devastated in Israel’s bombing and ground offensive if the conflict ended today.

Or’s wife, Yonat, was killed in the October 7 Hamas attack, while two of their three children were abducted and then freed as part of the November ceasefire deal.

Ukrainian singer Jerry Heil and rapper alyona alyona spoke about promoting their war-torn country’s music, culture and freedom as they set off to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Adnan Al-Bursh, head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa Hospital, was detained while temporarily working in north Gaza and kept in custody for over 4 months before his death.

The US president says the protests have not made him reconsider his position on the war, but he does not support calls to send in the National Guard.

During an interview with the Economist, Macron said “I’m not ruling anything out”, when asked if he stood by comments earlier this year about the potential to send Western troops to Ukraine.

The predawn police crackdown at UCLA marked the latest flashpoint for mounting tensions on US college campuses, where protests over Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza.